Loud pipes and hearing loss.

M

mikev7

Registered
I think this topic is a very important discussion to everyone who loves loud pipes.

im 33 years old and ive owned proximately 7-8 bikes or so, all with exhaust systems. ive noticed some hearing loss for the last few years because of open exhaust. I know its the bikes because when i hear tones that match the sound of a motorcycle, my ears distort.

most people would be lead to believe that car auto sound would be the main cause of hearing loss. its not, its motorcycle pipes. despite the open air environment and the smooth attractive tone a bike puts off, have no mistake, youre destroying your hearing severely;;; (maybe cutting it in half).

ive never owned a car without atleast a custom 600 watt sound system. the last few have 1200 plus and as high as 1500 watts and it cant compare the the howl of a motorcycle which puts off as much as 110db. a average car auto system might be anywhere from 110-160db but its not a constant noise.

some bikes can be heard as far as 2-3 miles away on a quiet night. this is not including the ultra loud wind noise which has got to be just as damaging. imagine putting on some headphones that can be heard that far and listening to them for hours on end...

im just writing this so whomever reads it can learn from my experience... wear hearing protection when riding a motorcycle.

some might say they cant hear with earplugs in. theres earplugs on the market that allow for crisp clean sound at controlled levels to pass through small holes. they do however impair your hearing but its a small price to pay for being able to hear past 40.

:thumbsup:
 
They make cool new hearing-aids so who cares. Just get ones that go extra loud. lol:cheerleader:
 
I know that I have some hearing lost from the years that I have worked in bars doing security. I have yet to notice if I have any loss from the 3 years of riding that I have done so far. Do you notice if their is more of a loss from the exhaust side?
 
BIG GUY said:
I know that I have some hearing lost from the years that I have worked in bars doing security. I have yet to notice if I have any loss from the 3 years of riding that I have done so far. Do you notice if their is more of a loss from the exhaust side?
Click to expand...

Yup, me too !! I did 4 nights a week for 4 1/2 years. How about the smoke ? I'm a smoker, and use to have to step out for fresh air,LoL.


I never notice how loud MY BIKE is when I'm on it. I HATE riding without a full helmet, because of the noise.... Mostly the wind.



At night where I live (suburbs) you can hear the bikes for ever, I bet they're at least 5 miles away ?


There's a flashing sign now before you go into the city of Newark,DE that says "FINE FOR LOUD EXHAUST $300.00 FIRST OFFENSE"
 
Last edited:
Ha ha, funny you should mention this. I went to "bike week" in Daytona this spring and our
cottage was perhaps a hundred feet from the coast road, 1a as I remember it. Anyway the majority
of bikes that went by were running straight pipes.!! This procession went by for 18 hours a day.
By the time we left I was absolutely sick of the sound of loud pipes. I came home and promptly
put the stock pipes back on my HD Streetbob. Previous to this time, I had noticed when I got back
from a ride on the Streetbob, my ears were ringing and my hearing was impaired for a little while.
I can well imagine YOUR hearing has been damaged.!!
I plan on doing some touring on the HD, so I also figured it was good measure to put the stock
mufflers back on to avoid tickets in the small towns out west. I don't need any extra hassle on the road.
 
"ive never owned a car without atleast a custom 600 watt sound system. the last few have 1200 plus and as high as 1500 watts and it cant compare the the howl of a motorcycle which puts off as much as 110db. a average car auto system might be anywhere from 110-160db but its not a constant noise".

I would not dismiss the loud pipe theory totally, I would attribute it to more wind noise. How much time do you spend in your car? That closed space with all that sound volume bouncing around would be my guess. I'm by no way a hearing expert, I have been riding for 20+ years, 3/4 with ear plugs and no thumping car stereo and my hearing is excellent for my 45 years.
 
Drive faster then the sound will be behind you...???

Not so much from all the bikes I have had but some loss due to my job and 'testing' some things as well as many yrs as rangemaster here in Florida.
Too many loud booms..
 
mikev7 said:
I think this topic is a very important discussion to everyone who loves loud pipes.

im 33 years old and ive owned proximately 7-8 bikes or so, all with exhaust systems. ive noticed some hearing loss for the last few years because of open exhaust. I know its the bikes because when i hear tones that match the sound of a motorcycle, my ears distort.

most people would be lead to believe that car auto sound would be the main cause of hearing loss. its not, its motorcycle pipes. despite the open air environment and the smooth attractive tone a bike puts off, have no mistake, youre destroying your hearing severely;;; (maybe cutting it in half).

ive never owned a car without atleast a custom 600 watt sound system. the last few have 1200 plus and as high as 1500 watts and it cant compare the the howl of a motorcycle which puts off as much as 110db. a average car auto system might be anywhere from 110-160db but its not a constant noise.

some bikes can be heard as far as 2-3 miles away on a quiet night. this is not including the ultra loud wind noise which has got to be just as damaging. imagine putting on some headphones that can be heard that far and listening to them for hours on end...

im just writing this so whomever reads it can learn from my experience... wear hearing protection when riding a motorcycle.

some might say they cant hear with earplugs in. theres earplugs on the market that allow for crisp clean sound at controlled levels to pass through small holes. they do however impair your hearing but its a small price to pay for being able to hear past 40.

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

There's no way the average car stereo produces anywhere near 160db. For reference, the 200 Watt factory Bose system (I know, Bose sucks) in my coupe will barely break 100db, and just as top speed on a motorcycle doesn't double when horsepower doubles, it takes a LOT of watts to hit even 130db.

I've got over 1400 watts worth of power in my home stereo system, and it won't break 110db at the listening position...not that I want it to....it starts getting painful over 100db.

That correction made...loud pipes can be very annoying, and can contribute to hearing loss if exposure time isn't limited, or decibel level reachin the ears not reduced with hearing protection.
 
From the linked article:

Another rule of thumb: All else being equal, every three dB of increased sound from a typical dB drag racing system requires a doubling of amplifier power.
 
I have lost all the high frequency hearing in my left ear as a result of a virus 8 or so years ago. With that I also suffer from tinnitus (constant 24/7 ringing in the ear). It is certainly exaggerated and worsened by wind when riding, the sound from my D&D pipes on the Busa but also (and even more) by wind noise when driving my convertible, stereo headphones, bass from the car stereo, going to concerts are off the list, loud parties, etc. Loud pipes are not helping but they are included on a very long list of negatives. Go with the ear plugs on your bike if you are comfortable wearing them. If not then don't.
 
I have tinnitus, it a constant ringing in the ears, i have trouble hearing high frequencies.

Too many loud rock concerts, car audio and working in a loud work environment, I have had it for many years.
 
I have tinnitus also (thanks to growing up around dirt track stock cars and multiple untreated ear infections)... and I have found that when I ride with my ear plugs, the ringing is almost unbearable... But I do continue to wear the earplugs and suffer through it.

If I could find some headphones that I can actually HEAR while riding without being at concert decibel levels... maybe that would help... but for now.. it's the earplugs and the wonderful tune of tinnitus.
 
i have hearing loss due to whinny wifes and *****ing children...does this count?:laugh:
 
I just turned 66, so could you kids please speak up a bit!? I don't want to miss anything here! :poke:
 
I have had drag cars, guns, dirt bikes, harleys, sport bikes, etc. etc. and all have been loud. Never suffered any hearing loss and my hearing is super sonic :rofl:

I could hear a mouse fart from 1/4 mile away :laugh:

I will tell you that the ONLY pipe I have ever heard that hurt my ears, literally, was the tsukigi canon slip ons. Those damn things are ear bleed loud. :banghead: and that was with my full face helmet on while riding the bike. They were unbearable.
 
solution:

ear plugs.jpg

ear plugs.jpg
 
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